Ex-Naval Officer Makes Supreme Court Debut on Veteran’s Behalf

James Barney will take the high-court lectern Tuesday mindful of the realities of military life as he argues for a fellow veteran seeking retroactive disability benefits.

The former submarine officer is making his Supreme Court debut on behalf of Adolfo Arellano, who served in the Navy from 1977-81 and has schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder with PTSD, following an aircraft-carrier collision that killed and injured his shipmates and almost swept him overboard.

And though it’s Barney’s first high-court outing, it’s far from the first Washington appellate argument for the Finnegan partner and IP litigator who’s experienced at the US Court ...